32 replies to this topic

[Paul Rochdale]

In my youth I used to watch Chris Vincent on his green/black BSA sidecar powering himself around Brands Hatch to victory after victory. Whilst he struggled against Continental opposition, we was pretty unbeatable for quite a while here.

How did his successes fair after that? I heard that as more and more modern machines appeared he struggled to keep with them. I believe also he was involved in an incident when he went up an escape road somewhere, collided with a vehicle and seriously injured his passenger. How did things work out in the end?

Edited by Paul Rochdale, 11 August 2011 - 11:22.

[Rennmax]

Didn't he retire after the '72 season where he campaigned a Münch URS in the w/c ship ?

[tonyed]

We used to say, whilst struggling back from wherever during the 70s, trying to keep the speed up with a fully laden three speed, high diff Thames (akin to racing a 125, impetus is everything) that all those Sunday drivers in their Austin A30s and A40 Farinas could do with few laps round Mallory as ‘passenger’ for Chris Vincent on an A65 powered outfit barrelling into Gerards without a down change.
Good on solos as well.

[Paul Rochdale]

I do recall an often mentioned quote by Chris that "a passenger was an unnecessary evil". What he mean't was that the shape and weight of the passenger slowed the outfit down rather than to cause any offense to his passenger but it wasn't taken that way.

I heard that Chris Vincent, like many other stars, wasn't easy to get on with.

[Rennmax]

I do recall an often mentioned quote by Chris that "a passenger was an unnecessary evil". What he mean't was that the shape and weight of the passenger slowed the outfit down rather than to cause any offense to his passenger but it wasn't taken that way.

I heard that Chris Vincent, like many other stars, wasn't easy to get on with.

Isn't it strange when you go sidecar racing but object to passengers ? It's the name of the game I guess. Sounds to me like entering a marathon and postulate that the distance shouldn't be longer than 10 kms.

Edited by Rennmax, 11 August 2011 - 20:20.

[Paul Collins]

In my youth I used to watch Chris Vincent on his green/black BSA sidecar powering himself around Brands Hatch to victory after victory. Whilst he struggled against Continental opposition, we was pretty unbeatable for quite a while here.

How did his successes fair after that? I heard that as more and more modern machines appeared he struggled to keep with them. I believe also he was involved in an incident when he went up an escape road somewhere, collided with a vehicle and seriously injured his passenger. How did things work out in the end?

I remember in the mid to late seventies seeing an appeal in the small ads of MCN for witnesses to an incident at Mere Hairpin at Scarborough where he had gone down the slip road and collided with a parked recovery van, I think the ad was placed by a firm of solicitors and the way it was worded it looked like some kind of legal action was being sought by someone.

Edited by Paul Collins, 11 August 2011 - 20:49.

[Russell Burrows]

Brilliant: the best of the Brits back in the sixties. Unusually, he seems to have John Robinson in the chair ?

[GD66]

Good call, Russell. Usually depicted with either Terry Harrison, Keith Scott or John Thornton in the Beeza days. I recall several great black-and-white pics from the weeklies of the era with the outfit in a tyre-smoking, lurid drift. The bloke sure could go hard...

[fil2.8]

Good call, Russell. Usually depicted with either Terry Harrison, Keith Scott or John Thornton in the Beeza days. I recall several great black-and-white pics from the weeklies of the era with the outfit in a tyre-smoking, lurid drift. The bloke sure could go hard...

He sure could , Glenn , a joy to watch , his battles with the Owen Greenwood Mini , Pete Brown and Terry Vinnicombe , amongst others was , at times breathtaking

[Bernard]

Brilliant: the best of the Brits back in the sixties. Unusually, he seems to have John Robinson in the chair ?

Russell

There have been correspondence on here about John Robinson who I used to live near in Croydon..This was on a US website

As a lad I once worked with John Robinson, passenger to Fritz Scheidegger, World Chamions in 1966.
He had a steel plate in his head from an accident at Mallory which killed Fritz. Apparently they went straight on into the bank. He was a quiet chap and still suffering a bit (1979). His boss said "oh H, you like bikes have a word with old John over there, he was a World Champion". Being a big fan of the 70's BMW and Konig chairs it was a real treat. Nice fellow. Hope I did not bore him with my yammering on our delivery rounds. He never rode again after the accident. Of course being naive i said why dont you ride again and he just shook his head. I only found out about Fritz a while later.

The writer gave no more details

[jonnoj]

Still around. He was at Mallory in 2008 taking round a Norton Rotary outfit.

http://www.vintagebi...t-mallory-park/

It was alleged that Chris Vincent wasn't happy unless he'd broken the lap & race records, frequently leaving him on the sidelines with a broken BSA engine. I believe he worked for BSA, good for cheap bits, crap for engines!

[fil2.8]

It was alleged that Chris Vincent wasn't happy unless he'd broken the lap & race records, frequently leaving him on the sidelines with a broken BSA engine. I believe he worked for BSA, good for cheap bits, crap for engines!

A large back door , IIRC ,

[Chiltern boy]

I also saw him race a Honda CBR93 and a G50 Kirby Matchless at Brands Hatch back in the late sixties. If I remember he did ok on the Honda but found the G50 a bit of a handful. Cool looking dude.

[RC162]

Chris Vincent also rode one of Phil Morris's Honda replicas in the Past Masters parade at the Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory in 2010. There's footage of the bike on YouTube with his initials on it but I can't find any footage of Chris riding it at the moment.

[Herr Wankel]

I also saw him race a Honda CBR93 and a G50 Kirby Matchless at Brands Hatch back in the late sixties. If I remember he did ok on the Honda but found the G50 a bit of a handful. Cool looking dude.

UK champ back in the 60s on the CR93,so fairly handy on the solos.As a lot of the chair boys were then.

HW

[Rennmax]

Russell

There have been correspondence on here about John Robinson who I used to live near in Croydon..This was on a US website

As a lad I once worked with John Robinson, passenger to Fritz Scheidegger, World Chamions in 1966.
He had a steel plate in his head from an accident at Mallory which killed Fritz. Apparently they went straight on into the bank. He was a quiet chap and still suffering a bit (1979). His boss said "oh H, you like bikes have a word with old John over there, he was a World Champion". Being a big fan of the 70's BMW and Konig chairs it was a real treat. Nice fellow. Hope I did not bore him with my yammering on our delivery rounds. He never rode again after the accident. Of course being naive i said why dont you ride again and he just shook his head. I only found out about Fritz a while later.

The writer gave no more details

This has been on the Forum before, thanks to the gent who provided it originally

[GD66]

Lovely pic, thanks for sharing Renn.

[Russell Burrows]

I also saw him race a Honda CBR93 and a G50 Kirby Matchless at Brands Hatch back in the late sixties. If I remember he did ok on the Honda but found the G50 a bit of a handful. Cool looking dude.

Yeah, jazz muso goatee an all. As you say, he was quick too on a CR93 Honda. He also regularly rode a 250 Aermacchi but I can't ever recall him on one of Kirby's bikes?

Edited by Russell Burrows, 14 August 2011 - 18:32.

[bella]

I'm sure he was a big rival to the late great Bill Ivy on the national scene before Bill went to Yamaha .

[rotrax]

In my youth I used to watch Chris Vincent on his green/black BSA sidecar powering himself around Brands Hatch to victory after victory. Whilst he struggled against Continental opposition, we was pretty unbeatable for quite a while here.

How did his successes fair after that? I heard that as more and more modern machines appeared he struggled to keep with them. I believe also he was involved in an incident when he went up an escape road somewhere, collided with a vehicle and seriously injured his passenger. How did things work out in the end?

Hi, IIRC Chris Vincent's trip off track caused a lot of changes to the way motorcycle sport was administered and insured.It was found that the bit where you agreed to "Save Harmless" the ACU and the organising club was not able to stand up in court. IIRC Chris picked up a passenger at the track who perhaps did not sign on as a passenger. The securing pins for the brake pads had not been fitted-or something similar-and an off and susequent crash into an ambulance or track safety vehicle occurred.The **** hit the fan big time. At this time I was organising club racing and had the ear of a couple of ACU insiders. Their opinion of the passenger was not high to say the least! It did show that admin needed to be better as did tech. inpection of race bikes. Chris Vincent was a hard man on a motorbike and was a top performer on two and,as is better known three wheels. The crash and following court case was at the forefront of the litigeous society we live in now.

[Russell Burrows]

Apparently he was pretty quick too.

[Rennmax]

Derek Minter, Russ ?

[GD66]

Silverstone, Feb 1965. John Robinson in the chair.

[Rennmax]

Silverstone, Feb 1965. John Robinson in the chair.

How did they perform Glenn ?

[Arthur]

Chris Vincent also rode a 50cc Suzuki for Susuki G.B. Ltdin the 1966 50cc TT He partnered Tommy Robb

[GD66]

How did they perform Glenn ?

It was a cold, damp day for an outing : Minter blatted round using his "Solo Lines" and after eight laps was circulating at 86 mph when then lap record speed in those days was 90 mph.

Minter said years later that his effort was due largely to the superb quality of Vincent's machine, plus the expertise of his passenger. Without those two aspects, he felt he would have achieved nothing much.

Vincent said he felt in a short circuit race Minter would finish very well up.

I'm paraphrasing from Mick Walker's Derek Minter book, but they are quotes therein.

[GD66]

Chris Vincent also rode a 50cc Suzuki for Susuki G.B. Ltdin the 1966 50cc TT He partnered Tommy Robb

True Arthur, and I seem to recall him getting some good results on a production T20 Hustler when they first came out as well. The boy could go. Then there was Luciana Paluzzi's rocket-firing 654 Thunderbolt, and a movie stunt and special effects career was born...

[Rennmax]

It was a cold, damp day for an outing : Minter blatted round using his "Solo Lines" and after eight laps was circulating at 86 mph when then lap record speed in those days was 90 mph.

Minter said years later that his effort was due largely to the superb quality of Vincent's machine, plus the expertise of his passenger. Without those two aspects, he felt he would have achieved nothing much.

Vincent said he felt in a short circuit race Minter would finish very well up.

I'm paraphrasing from Mick Walker's Derek Minter book, but they are quotes therein.

Thanks Glenn, here is another shot where the comment claims that he only practised on an outfit, well obviously wrong

http://www.vintagebi...-action/page/3/

[Russell Burrows]

Thanks Glenn, here is another shot where the comment claims that he only practised on an outfit, well obviously wrong

http://www.vintagebi...-action/page/3/

Hi Renn, it was only a Silverstone demo type event. After enjoying himself, Derek was reported as saying he would have like to have a a fling in a race. Filling the pages of one of the pre season comics seems to be the reason for it happening.

Edited by Russell Burrows, 15 August 2011 - 14:45.

[GD66]

Typical that he was good at it, all the same. The Brands squirt doesn't look like John Robinson in the chair, though.

[Russell Burrows]

Russell

There have been correspondence on here about John Robinson who I used to live near in Croydon..This was on a US website

As a lad I once worked with John Robinson, passenger to Fritz Scheidegger, World Chamions in 1966.
He had a steel plate in his head from an accident at Mallory which killed Fritz. Apparently they went straight on into the bank. He was a quiet chap and still suffering a bit (1979). His boss said "oh H, you like bikes have a word with old John over there, he was a World Champion". Being a big fan of the 70's BMW and Konig chairs it was a real treat. Nice fellow. Hope I did not bore him with my yammering on our delivery rounds. He never rode again after the accident. Of course being naive i said why dont you ride again and he just shook his head. I only found out about Fritz a while later.

The writer gave no more details

Thanks Bernard, wonder what he does nowadays and if he likes computers?

[Bernard]

[quote name='Russell Burrows' date='Aug 15 2011, 10:55' post='5229225']
Thanks Bernard, wonder what he does nowadays and if he likes computers?

Indeed. While on the subject of passengers I see from the car side of this forum that Peter Ruttaford passenger of Siggi Schauzu and World Champ with Horst Owesle runs a garage in Bletchingly Surrey

[TrevorHeath]

Chris Vincent also raced Grass Track I believe.

TH